Thaumatology 06 - Hammer of Witches Page 15

  She went west, out past Battersea where she could see Alexandra’s clearing below her. Across the bend in the river which was Fulham. Further and the grassy area which was Kew was below her and she turned north toward Ealing. That was when she saw something rising toward her. Another winged figure rising from a spot near the cemetery. Tall, glowing, it rose on wings of bright fire and rushed toward her. She heard words. ‘Thou shalt not have him.’

  Ceri opened her eyes with a snap. The toothbrush in her hand was crumbling to dust. Dropping to her knees, Ceri pulled the sobbing Jasmine into her arms. ‘It’s okay, hun. It’s okay. I’m sorry. It’s okay.’

  ‘Did you find her?’ Carter asked.

  ‘I got close. There was something…’ Ceri shook her head. ‘Ealing, just north of the cemetery.’

  ‘There’s not much up that way,’ Alec said, ‘and I know her scent.’

  ‘Call the cops,’ Ceri said. ‘Get a tactical team out there as well. He’s got… I don’t know, divine help.’

  ‘That’ll slow us down,’ Alec growled.

  ‘Alec, I’m serious. We need heavy weapons. Some of those anti-immaterial rifles. It wasn’t a ward that stopped me getting closer, it was a fucking angel!’

  Little Ealing

  The front door of the small house exploded inward; Ceri was in a bad mood. Alec had been right, of course, it had taken too long to get the police organised and before she blew the door she knew that Naira was not going to be there.

  Four men in combat gear charged in; two had submachine guns, two had anti-immaterial rifles. The latter were specifically designed to take out ghosts and spirits, and the police did not officially have any of them. In fact, they did not officially exist. They were not going to get any use, however. The house was empty, at least of anything living. It was, on the other hand, informative.

  The place was barely lived in. There was a computer in one of the rooms and a bedroll laid out near it. The kitchen had food in it, but just the bare essentials. The man was living like a monk, which probably made sense. The cellar, however, was another matter.

  The floor was scuff marked, as though some heavy objects had been dragged out in a hurry. Heavy, iron rings had been sunk into the walls in several places and there were chains hanging from a couple of them. Around the room, on rough, wooden tables, there were tongs, knives, and various other things Ceri had only the barest clue about. Some of the implements had blood on them.

  ‘Kind of kinky for a religious guy,’ Lily said.

  ‘This isn’t kinky,’ Ceri replied. ‘This is a real torture chamber.’

  A newer cabinet stood in one corner and Ceri opened it. It looked like one of the shelves had been cleared out, but he had not had time for the others. There were a number of bottles labelled in a language she did not immediately recognise. She picked one of them up and stared at it. ‘Anyone any good with languages?’

  Kate appeared beside her and looked over her shoulder. ‘I don’t know what it says, but it might be Spanish. Kind of looks right.’

  ‘Spanish?’ Ceri said, frowning.

  ‘Naira’s from Brazil,’ Lily said flatly.

  ‘Our witch hunter is from Brazil,’ Ceri said. ‘Oh great.’

  ‘We don’t know it was the same man,’ John said.

  ‘We do,’ Kate replied. ‘Look around. This place makes my blood run cold. That over there, that’s a scold’s bridle, those are thumb screws, this…’ She kicked a metal contraption near her foot, ‘…is a foot press. He’s got a pulley in the ceiling for hanging people strappado-style. This is an inquisitorial torture chamber. He was torturing witches to get them to confess before he burned them.’

  ‘If he’s after witches,’ John said, ‘why the bomb, or the vampire club? Why take this Naira?’

  ‘I’m guessing she’s a special case,’ Ceri said. ‘She told me they burn were-creatures there and she escaped.’

  ‘But there’s no body, no sign of burning.’

  ‘No,’ Ceri frowned. ‘He’s keeping her alive for now. He’s kept Suzie alive too.’

  ‘How do you know?’ Kate asked.

  ‘The scrape marks,’ John said, pointing to the origin of the ruts in the dusty floor. ‘There were two containers dragged out of here.’

  Ceri nodded. ‘For whatever reason, he’s keeping them alive. Now we just need to find him.’ Again. If they had been faster… She pushed the thought out of her head. Next time she would take Alec’s advice, but there was no point in crying over it now. Now they needed another lead.

  Kennington, November 9th

  Ceri opened her eyes and saw nothing other than Michael’s grey, furry back. It was dark still and she had no idea why she had woken until the flicker of orange light caught the edge of her vision. Something was trying to get through the wards.

  Michael stirred as she climbed over him. Lily was already awake at her first movement. The half-succubus was terrible at getting out of bed in the morning, but move in the night and she was instantly concerned. ‘What’s wrong?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Something’s attacking the wards,’ Ceri replied. She pulled the curtain aside and looked out through the window. There was nothing visible, just a shimmer of dying energy at the fence line. Then it struck again; a flare of light which looked like something humanoid with huge wings slamming into a wall. Abstractly, Ceri thought it looked a bit like a snow angel, or the marks birds left when they hit a window.

  ‘An angel?’ Lily said from behind her. ‘You said the witch hunter had an angel guarding him. You think it’s attacking here?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I’m going to give it a headache.’ She turned and started for the door.

  Michael’s clawed hand gripped her bicep, pulling her to a stop, though not roughly. Wise? he growled.

  Ceri gave him a bleak smile. ‘Maybe not, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’ve had enough of this guy.’ His hand released her; arguing with her was likely pointless and the wards seemed to be holding.

  Ceri picked up her staff from the study and then walked out through the side door of the house, not caring that she was still naked until the cold air bit into her skin. Almost immediately the wards flared directly in front of her and she flinched.

  ‘Good.’ The voice was beautiful, somehow neither male nor female, but soft, perfectly toned, and in her head. ‘It is good that thou art frightened.’

  Her Sight showed her the figure ahead of her; not exactly as a real shape, more as a bending of the magical fields around the house; a humanoid shape with no distinct features and two huge, fiery wings extending from its shoulders. Angels had no natural shape, Ceri knew that, but they liked to meet expectations; it made life easier. The head of Ceri’s staff began to glow as though providing light.

  ‘Why shouldn’t I be afraid? Isn’t that what you guys are all about? The fear of God?’

  ‘God is love, child,’ the angel replied, and slammed into the wards again. Ceri could see it driving its body into the wall.

  Ceri felt Michael and Lily behind her now; the angel’s aura flared brightly at the sight of them. ‘What then,’ Ceri asked, ‘are you Fallen? I’m seeing not a lot of love here.’

  ‘Consorting with demons? Having congress with beasts?’ Michael growled in response to that one. ‘You mock the laws of He Who Is.’

  ‘I’m mocking nothing,’ Ceri replied. ‘Lily is not a demon and Michael is not even like a beast. I never agreed to abide by those laws. I don’t belong to the Nation of Israel and you have no right to impose those laws on me or anyone else in this land. Go back to Brazil.’

  She saw it then, a flicker in the spirit’s fields, a betrayal of emotion. Was it anger? Surprise? She could not tell, but she was going to use the second of distraction. She raised her staff and fired off a bolt of thaumic energy tuned to the angel’s energy signature. The angel screamed, a sound like razor blades being dragged through the mind, and even Michael cowered down in fear.

  ‘Is… is it gone?’ Lily asked when she was able t
o speak again.

  ‘Yes,’ Ceri said, her voice soft.

  Michael growled, Dead?

  ‘I don’t know. I hit it pretty hard, but I’ve never blasted an angel before. It’ll be licking its wounds for a while.’ She shivered. ‘Let’s get inside before my nipples can be used for hole punches. I need to call Greycoat Street.’

  Lily frowned, but half-pushed Ceri in through the kitchen door. ‘Why?’

  ‘If the angel’s down, their diviners might have more luck tracing our witch hunter.’

  ‘Sweet!’ Lily said. ‘I’ll start a fire in the study, get you warmed up. Kind of stupid of the thing to attack us like that.’

  ‘Yes,’ Ceri agreed. She clenched her jaw to stop her teeth chattering, and then added, ‘I figure it didn’t realise what it was up against. It does now, so if I didn’t get it this time I doubt I’ll get another chance.’ She picked up the handset of the phone and dialled, waiting for an answer. From the fireplace she felt a little surge of magic and then there was a gleeful cry from Lily as her spell worked. Ceri grinned, and the phone picked up. ‘It’s Ceridwyn Brent, I need to talk to someone on the witch hunter case.’ There was a pause and then she added, ‘Yes it’s important!’

  ~~~

  It was on the morning news. ‘In a raid on a house in Landford, Wiltshire, police rescued Suzie Shore and an unnamed second victim of the man people are now calling “The Witch Hunter.” At this time, no indication of the condition of either victim has been made. The Witch Hunter was not found at the house. Police are continuing to investigate.’

  Ceri stabbed the mute button on the remote. ‘Why the fuck didn’t they call us?!’

  ‘Perhaps they were busy…’ Michael began just as the phone started ringing. He grinned at her. ‘Must’ve heard you.’

  ‘She yelled loud enough,’ Lily commented. She was nearest and grabbed the phone. ‘High Towers,’ she said into it. ‘Hi, Kate… Yes, we heard… BBC News… Yes, she was. In fact her voice may have rattled your office windows.’

  ‘Hey!’ Ceri protested.

  ‘Yes, of course we’ll come over,’ Lily continued, grinning. ‘Have you called Jasmine?’ She nodded. ‘Okay, we’ll be right over.’ She hit the disconnect button. ‘Jasmine is with Naira. Naira and Suzie are in the secure infirmary at Greycoat Street. We’re expected.’

  Ceri slapped Michael on the thigh. ‘Come on, hunk, much as I love you naked, we can’t go out without clothes on.’

  ‘But he almost always goes out without clothes on,’ Lily protested.

  Ceri stopped in the doorway. ‘He’s not turning up at Greycoat Street in fur.’

  Westminster

  DCI Barry eyed Michael for a few seconds as he walked into the conference room. ‘Morning, ladies,’ he said. ‘Morning, young man. If I keep seeing you around these two, I’ll be putting you on the Special Advisor programme.’

  ‘Alexandra assigned him to guard us,’ Ceri said, ‘and you don’t want a bored werewolf in your foyer.’

  ‘No, I’ve already had to deal with an angry one today.’

  ‘Alec wasn’t pleased with being left out of the raid either?’

  Barry grunted. ‘Mister Fleming calmed him down, and he was somewhat mollified to discover we weren’t there either. A team from the naval base at Portsmouth did it.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Not that an entire squad of Marines was actually necessary. It looks like when you took out his… guardian angel he panicked and ran. The diviners are trying to get a new lock on him, but they found the place in Landford by tracking your were-panther friend and they aren’t hopeful about anything from either of the houses.’

  ‘Landford’s near the New Forest isn’t it?’ Lily asked.

  ‘It is,’ Barry replied.

  ‘So that was his base when he was working that area,’ Ceri said.

  The detective nodded. ‘Forensics are still working, but I expect to find evidence of the witches killed there. They doubt there’s going to be much evidence of our killer. And in other good news, the computer from Ealing is giving us problems. Apparently the drive is encrypted.’

  ‘No way to decrypt it?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘Current word is that we need the password.’

  ‘Uh, I know how we can break it,’ Lily said.

  Ceri turned and looked at her. ‘You do?’

  ‘Probably,’ Lily replied. ‘You remember that friend of Twill’s that helped us when the spooks were watching us?’

  ‘Are you serious?’ Ceri’s eyes were wide. ‘They don’t get along well in public.’

  ‘We could at least ask,’ Lily suggested.

  ‘What are we talking about here?’ Barry asked.

  Ceri looked at him. ‘A gremlin.’

  ‘Oh,’ Barry said. He took in a deep breath and then let it out. ‘Oh,’ he repeated.

  Kennington

  ‘Are you serious?’ Twill asked.

  ‘That’s what I said,’ Ceri said.

  ‘Well, we can ask,’ Lily said plaintively.

  ‘You want me to ask a gremlin if he’ll go down to a police station to help them crack a computer system?’ Twill asked, her tone just a little disbelieving.

  ‘You think he’ll say no?’ Lily said.

  ‘No!’ Twill replied. ‘I think he’ll say yes. I think he’ll be absolutely gleeful. The Greycoats won’t be. They’ll never get rid of him!’

  ‘Oh,’ Lily said.

  ‘And that’s what the Chief said,’ Ceri commented. ‘Twice, actually.’

  ‘You’re not helping,’ Lily told her. ‘What do gremlins want? I mean, what could we give to persuade him to do the job and leave?’

  ‘They want,’ Twill said, ‘to be mischievous little buggers who make machines go wrong.’ She paused, looking thoughtful. ‘Though Kipple does have something of an unfortunate problem.’

  ‘Oh?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Yes, he’s under a curse.’ The fairy’s tiny face screwed up into a very expressive grimace. ‘He suffers from incurable boils and sores.’

  ‘So if we cured him?’ Ceri said.

  ‘Oh he’d do anything for the girl who cured him,’ Twill replied.

  Ceri’s eyes narrowed. ‘Why girl?’ It seemed a little specific.

  ‘Well, the only way he can be cured is a kiss from a dragon,’ Twill said. ‘I’m not absolutely sure it would work…’

  Ceri winced. ‘Boils and sores?’

  ‘Suppurating,’ Twill said, nodding.

  Ceri looked at Lily, who looked back, grinning in embarrassment. ‘You are so going to pay for this, pet.’

  Westminster, November 10th

  Gremlins were unusual fae. About eight inches high with green skin, they had abnormally long arms and a bulbous head featuring large, black eyes. No one knew how or where they had evolved, but it had been a relatively recent event. Some thought they had originated around the time the steam engine had been invented, an off-shoot of sprites, but they were not telling.

  What was particularly odd about them was their love of technology. Fae, as a rule, hated the stuff. They were actually only harmed by silver-iron, which affected their magic absorption, but they tended to dislike iron and steel, and machines. Gremlins had an affinity for technology, they loved the stuff. Unfortunately they also liked breaking it.

  Ceri watched Kipple work from a distance, trying hard not to wipe her mouth again. So far she had had two showers, washed her face five times, and brushed her teeth three times, and she still thought she could smell the goo that had been oozing out of the gremlin’s face. He looked fine now. Apparently someone with a couple of dragons in her bloodline had been sufficient. Curses were weird things, something of a balance; a relatively mild one, like Kipple’s, could have a horribly complex or unlikely revocation trigger and still not be too hard to cast. Ceri bet whoever had cursed the little fae had never thought he would find a dragon, let alone one willing to cure him. Still, apparently it had been worth it.

  ‘Pah!’ Kipple said. He had an alarming buzz in his v
oice. ‘Trivial, not even a challenge. This is old tech. Sub-standard encryption for a modern system.’ His long fingers flicked over a few more keys as a command line prompt appeared where the login prompt had been. ‘Ah well, there you go. This is out of South America. You’ll need a translator. I don’t do languages.’

  He turned on the swivel chair he had been provided with; it had been wound up as far as it would go and he was still standing on it. ‘There you go, toots. Job done.’ His grin had a large number of very sharp, pointy teeth in it. ‘Anything else I can do for you?’

  ‘No, thank you, Kipple,’ Ceri said. ‘I… sorted out your problem, you did as asked. Now you go back where we found you and you don’t bother the nice policemen, just like we said.’

  The fae looked around longingly at the forensics lab and sighed. ‘Deal’s a deal,’ he said. Hopping onto the table he reached out for one of the bench power sockets at the back. ‘Nice working with you.’ Then he vanished in a shower of sparks into the socket.

  Ceri turned around to where Barry, Kate, and John were standing. ‘All yours,’ she said.

  Kate looked at her with a raised eyebrow. ‘He seemed really grateful.’

  ‘Yeah, he did, didn’t he?’

  ‘What was this problem you solved for him?’

  Ceri grimaced. ‘I’d really rather not talk about it.’ Her eyes narrowed at Lily, who was trying not to giggle.

  Soho

  Carter was watching Lily as she moved between the tables. ‘Lily doesn’t seem to be keen on sitting down this evening,’ he commented. He looked around as Michael stifled a laugh.

  ‘No,’ Ceri said, ‘strange that.’

  ‘Is there a particular reason her behind seems rather tender?’ Carter asked.

  ‘She came up with a very clever idea on how to crack the encryption on that computer we found in Ealing,’ Ceri replied.

  ‘And you punished her for it?’

  ‘No. I had to do something particularly disgusting for it to work.’

  ‘So you punished her for that?’

  ‘No, I’m not that mean. They’re already getting useful data off it. The idea worked, it would be horrible sour grapes to paddle her backside for something that worked so well.’